Dear god, why would you do something as awful as that? A Christy sole is quite possibly the ugliest thing you could put on a pair of cordovan boots, especially something rare and beautiful as whiskey color. It's like putting a platinum Patek Philippe on a Velcro strap.

Heh, I kind of like them and have plenty of other boots, so why not one with a Christy? Admittedly I admit it is sort of ridiculous and lately have been thinking about spending my money on exotic leather dress shoes instead.

Great pics! And I love how you went right out and wore them on a hike. That is what they're built for.
I am REALLY leaning towards this leather for my next pair.

Keep posting some wear pics after you've hiked around in them for a while. I want to see how they age.

You know, when you send boots back to White's for a rebuild, they give you a new set of bookmarks. I think in a few years when I send a pair back, I will keep the old ones and actually use them as such.

It can't possibly be worth more than twice the price to get a pair of White's SD made up in shell cordovan? Don't get me wrong, I love shell cordovan, but I think it's more fair that they cost around 50% like Alden and not more than twice the price of a normal SD.

I would think two pairs of SD's in for example CXL would last longer than one in shell anyway.

It can't possibly be worth more than twice the price to get a pair of White's SD made up in shell cordovan? Don't get me wrong, I love shell cordovan, but I think it's more fair that they cost around 50% like Alden and not more than twice the price of a normal SD.

I would think two pairs of SD's in for example CXL would last longer than one in shell anyway.

While I agree that their upcharge for shell is downright outrageous, I imagine part of it is the fact that they're ordering shell in such smaller quantities than Alden...but that's only a part of it. I'd have to assume that they're doing it mostly because they think they can, and that because they assume anyone tracking down their boots in shell has ample money to do so (something I don't support or agree with). I'm mighty tempted to order a pair in shell, but I find the upcharge hard to justify, both functionally (is it really twice the boot?) and philosphically (do I really want to support such an insane upcharge?).

As far as lasting longer in CXL, I'm not sure I follow/agree. Shell is remarkably resilient, and should last every bit as long as CXL if properly taken care of.

Edit: I just noticed that you said *two* pairs in CXL. That I can get behind. Unfortunately, shell has that innate ability to roll instead of crease, which is just so damn sexy.